Esteemed local musician, teacher Jim Allard dies

Thursday

Feb 13, 2014 at 6:00 AM

By Victor D. Infante TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

On his album "The Wait," Worcester musician Jim Allard is a musical chameleon, jumping from jazz style to jazz style with seeming ease. The album's opener, "Soon," is heavy, almost brooding. Its closer, "When Evening Shadows Fall," has a lightness about it, smooth strands of music escaping the Earth, streaming toward the sky.

Allard died unexpectedly at the age of 60 Monday, according to information posted online by Worcester Academy, one of the several places where he taught. No cause of death was given. He leaves behind his wife, Donna, and their four daughters.

"Jim's passing is a tremendous loss for the entire Worcester Academy community," said Worcester Academy head of school Ron Cino in the statement. "At the same time, his legacy as a cherished colleague and dedicated teacher — something that you hear faculty and students saying again and again today — will impact lives for many years to come."

In addition to Worcester Academy, Allard taught at the Joy of Music Program, Clark University and WPI.

For Allard's friends and longtime collaborators in Worcester's music scene, his death came as a thunderclap.

"When I heard the news … it was like the ground opened up," said Mauro DePasquale, who performed with Allard in the jazz combo Jazzed Up. "I was shocked."

DePasquale and Allard began playing music together in their youth at North High School in the early '70s.

"We actually formed one of the first rock 'n' roll bands for school credit at the school," DePasquale recounted of their early days, before jazz became Allard's calling. "He and (local jazz musician) Rich Falco formed a Chicago cover band."

DePasquale credits Chicago's pivot into mainstream music as one of the catalysts for Allard's interest in jazz.

"I first met him at a session more than 40 years ago," says local musician and music journalist Chet Williamson. "He was burning even then. Yet, I remember how unassuming and unaffected he was — no posturing, just a great player wanting to learn and play. And Jim lived to play."

Williamson recalls that when Ralph's Chadwick Square Diner first opened, Allard played Wednesday nights there with a band called Bop 'n' Pop, where one of his featured songs was the Percy Sledge classic, "When A Man Loves A Woman."

"It was soul personified," says Williamson. "He squeezed out the sparks till it smoldered with blue embers. One night I told him how much I loved his playing on the song. I also said that I'd always wanted to learn the piece but couldn't find the music (and was too lazy to transcribe the music off the record). Jim sat down at the bar and wrote out the piece — melody, chords and horn articulations — on the spot."

When discussing Allard with musicians, his immense talent and flexibility were common themes. "One minute he'll sound like Dexter Gordon," says DePasquale. "The next, he'll sound like (John) Coltrane. For him, I think it was the melody. He had a certain sensitivity to it. He could play anything. He could go any direction."

Allard was gifted in a number of instruments, including saxophone, flute and clarinet, as well as being a composer. DePasquale notes that, in addition to teaching and performing, he also played for commercials and was a much in-demand sessions player.

DePasquale referred to Allard as his "go-to guy" for projects, invoking a dependability that Williamson echoed.

"Whenever I could not play an engagement," he said, "Jim was my first call. That happened as recent as last Friday night. I received a call that day to play that night. Given the short notice, and the fact that I was already booked somewhere, I called Jim. He saved the day."

It's the suddenness that seems to have shocked many, as he had been active teaching and performing right up until the end.

"Losing Jim Allard creates yet another hole in an already diminishing music scene," says Williamson. "Personally speaking, the grief I feel makes it painful for me to scribble down these simple thoughts. I've lost a brother. There's an old saying that states, 'if you love something it will never be lost.' Jim lives."

According to the Worcester Academy website and information posted on Facebook, memorial services for Jim Allard are planned for 2 p.m. Feb. 15 at Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses, 1071 West St. (Route 68), Gardner. Worcester Academy is also working with the family to plan a musical celebration of his life for a date in the near future.